Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Multiload-ng 1.2.0 Released With Color Schemes Support, More

| Date: August 30, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: applets, lubuntu, lxde, mate, system monitor, ubuntu mate, xfce, xubuntu

Multiload-ng, a graphical system monitor for Xfce, LXDE, and MATE panels, was updated to version 1.2.0 recently, getting color schemes support, a redesigned preferences window, and more.

Multiload-ng

How To Install And Configure Bumblebee In Ubuntu 16.04 Or 16.10 (With Nvidia-361 Or Nvidia-370 And Newer)

| Date: August 30, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: bumblebee, customization, nvidia, ubuntu

Bumblebee logo


The Bumblebee package available in the official Ubuntu 16.04 repositories needs a tweak to work with Nvidia 361 graphics drivers. Furthermore, if you want to use a newer Nvidia graphics drivers version, such as 370 (which is currently in beta), the discrete card is not turned off, resulting in it being used all the time, and not just when running apps or games with "optirun", as it should.

So here's how to properly install and configure Bumblebee in Ubuntu 16.04, to get it to work with nvidia-361 and nvidia-370 (the latter from the Graphics Drivers PPA).

 The instructions below should also work with Linux Mint 18.x, but I didn't test this in Linux Mint!

 Update: the Nvidia Graphics Drivers PPA now also provides Nvidia 375 and 378 drivers. The instructions below work with these as well, but make sure to replace any instance o "nvidia-370" with the version from the PPA you use, in the instructions below!

 Update 2: the instructions below now also include Ubuntu 16.10.

MATE Dock Applet Gets Unity-Like Progress Bar And Badge Support

| Date: August 24, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: applet, mate, ubuntu, ubuntu mate

MATE Dock Applet is a MATE Panel applet that displays running application windows as icons. The applet features options to pin applications to the dock, supports multiple workspaces, and can be added to any MATE Panel, regardless of size and orientation.

Mate Dock Applet Unity Badge Progress Bar Support

The latest MATE Dock Applet 0.74, released today, includes a feature requested by some of you: it can now display Unity-like progress bars and badges on top of the icons, for applications that support this. You can see this in action, in the screenshot above, for Transmission. 

Switch Between Multiple Lists Of Apps Pinned To Unity Launcher With `Launcher List Indicator` [Updated Again]

| Date: August 24, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: appindicator, customization, tweaks, ubuntu, unity

Launcher List Indicator is a simple AppIndicator that makes it easy to switch between multiple lists of Unity Launcher icons (apps pinned to the launcher).


Launcher List Indicator

Quick Updates: Guake 0.8.7, WebTorrent Desktop 0.12.0, TLP 0.9

| Date: August 23, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: bittorrent, guake, laptop, terminal, tlp, WebTorrent

Guake 0.8.7


Guake terminal

Guake is a drop-down terminal emulator for GNOME (GTK2). The application is inspired from consoles in computer games, such as Quake, in which the console slides from the top of the screen when a key is pressed. In the same way, Guake can be invoked and hidden using a single key (though Guake can also automatically hide when it loses focus).

How To Completely Disable Mouse Acceleration In Linux

| Date: August 19, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: customization, games, linux, mouse, tweaks, ubuntu

mouse

Some desktop environments don't provide a way to change the mouse acceleration (GNOME and Unity for instance), and even for those that do (like Cinnamon), you can't completely turn it off. Here's how to completely disable mouse acceleration in Linux (for Xorg).

How To Prevent The Super Key From Opening Dash On Top Of Fullscreen Windows (Ubuntu /w Unity Only)

| Date: August 19, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: customization, games, tips n tricks, tweaks, ubuntu, unity

Unity Dash on top of fullscreen game

In Ubuntu (Unity), the Super (Windows) key is used to open Unity Dash. Accidentally pressing the Super key when playing fullscreen games can be quite annoying, because Dash covers quite a bit of the screen, so you can't see what's going on, and it also switches the keyboard input from the game to Unity.

If you've gotten used to using the Super key to open Dash and don't want to change it, you can use a Python script, created by Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy for AskUbuntu, which automatically disables the Super key from opening Unity Dash, if there are any fullscreen windows. Note that the script has only been tested in Ubuntu 16.04.

Rclone Synchronizes Files Between Multiple Cloud Storage Services (Command Line)

| Date: August 18, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, dropbox, google drive, linux, macosx, one drive, sync, windows

cloud storage

There are command line tools available for synchronizing files from / to cloud storage services, but they usually only support one service. Like Grive2 for Google Drive, the official Yandex.Disk console client, Dropbox Uploader, and so on.

But what about synchronizing files and folders from or to multiple cloud storage services? For such cases, you can use Rclone, a Rsync-like program for cloud storage.

Rclone can synchronize files and directories between Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox, Microsoft One Drive, Amazon S3, Amazon Drive, Openstack Swift / Rackspace cloud files / Memset Memstore, Hubic, Yandex Disk, and Backblaze B2.

 The synchronization can be done either directly between these services, or to / from your local filesystem.

Turtl: Secure, Open Source Evernote Alternative

| Date: August 16, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: android, cloud, evernote, linux, macosx, notes, sync, windows

Turtl is a secure, open source Evernote alternative, available for Linux, Windows, Mac, and Android. An iOS version is "coming soon". Firefox and Chrome bookmarking extensions are also available.

Turtl desktop application

The application, which is currently in beta, lets you keep your notes (with Markdown support for the note editor), website bookmarks, passwords, documents, photos, and so on, in a single private place.

Alternative System Monitor Applet For LXDE, Xfce, And MATE: Multiload-ng

| Date: August 15, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: applet, customization, linux mint, lubuntu, lxde, mate, ubuntu mate, xfce, xubuntu

Multiload-ng is a GTK2 graphical system monitor for the Xfce, LXDE, and MATE panels, forked from the old GNOME Multiload applet. It can also run in a standalone window.

Multiload system monitor Lubuntu LXDE

Get Football (Soccer) Scores, Fixtures, And Standings From The Command Line With Soccer CLI [Updated]

| Date: August 12, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: cli, football, linux

If you prefer working at the command line to using a graphical interface, and you're a football (soccer) fan, Soccer CLI is for you.

soccer cli

The app uses the football-data.org API to provide past and live football scores, standings, upcoming fixtures, and player information. All major European football leagues are supported, including Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and more.

Vivaldi 1.3 Stable Released With Custom Themes, Tab Hibernation On Linux

| Date: August 11, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: browser, linux, macosx, vivaldi, windows

A new stable version of Vivaldi, the web browser aimed at power users, was released today, and it includes custom themes, tab hibernation on Linux, enhanced privacy, and more.

Vivaldi browser linux

Quick Updates: Variety Wallpaper Changer, WebTorrent Desktop, Oomox, Telegram Purple, OBS Studio

| Date: August 10, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: eyecandy, obs, oomox, pidgin, telegram, twitch, variety, WebTorrent

Variety 0.6.2


Variety wallpaper changer

Variety is a wallpaper changer that can automatically download wallpapers from various sources, like Flikr, Wallhaven, Bing Photo of the Day, Unslash, Desktoppr, NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, as well as a live wallpaper of the world sunlight map. It can also automatically fetch wallpapers recommended by other Variety users.

The app was updated recently with a new "safe mode" option, which can be used to avoid NSFW and sketchy images. This feature relies on user ratings, so it's not perfect, at least until more users rate the wallpapers.

Add Recently Accessed Files As Quicklists To Apps Pinned To Unity Launcher With `Ubuntu RecentQuicklists`

| Date: August 10, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: customization, quicklists, tweaks, ubuntu, unity

Ubuntu RecentQuicklists is a Python script that adds recently accessed files as quicklists (right click menu) to applications pinned to the Unity Launcher.

Ubuntu RecentQuicklists

Audacious 3.8 Beta 1 Released, Available In PPA

| Date: August 05, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: audacious, linux, music player, ubuntu, windows

Audacious 3.8 beta 1 was released a couple of days ago and is available in the WebUpd8 Unstable PPA. The new version brings support for running multiple Audacious instances, a new plugin for the Qt interface, and various other improvements and bug fixes.

Audacious 3.8 Ubuntu
Audacious GTK2 interface

Easily Share Files From The Command Line With transfer.sh

| Date: August 04, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: cli, internet, share, tips n tricks

If you prefer doing things from the command line, transfer.sh (no, that's not a script, it's a website) is for you. Using it, you can easily share a file from the command line, without installing anything. Well, cURL or Wget are required, but you probably already have them installed.

The service is free, allows uploading files up to 10 GB in size, and it stores the files for 14 days. In my test, it was also very fast.

Firefox 48 Released, Multi-Process Enabled By Default For Some Users

| Date: August 02, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: browser, firefox, linux, macosx, ubuntu, windows

Firefox 48 was released today and it includes changes such as enhanced download protection, initial multi-process (Electrolysis, or e10s for short) rollout in Firefox for Desktop, and more.

Firefox Ubuntu

Atom 1.9.0 Released With Drag And Drop Layout Management, Display Layers

| Date: August 02, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: atom, linux, macosx, text editor, ubuntu, windows

Atom 1.9 was released recently, receiving major improvements, such as display layers, drag and drop layout management, and more.

Atom text editor

Stream Videos To Chromecast From The Command Line Using Stream2Chromecast

| Date: August 01, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: chromecast, cli, linux, video


Stream2Chromecast is a command line Chromecast media streamer for Linux. The tool can transcode unsupported formats in real time and play them on the Chromecast.

License: (cc) BY-NC-SA WebUpd8 | Privacy